Study of Ecology and Epidemiological Role of Blood-Sucking True Flies (DIPTERA) in the Spread of Causative Agents of Zoonoses and Parasitoses in the Climatically Changing Slovakia.

The project relates to previous successfully performed projects and is focused on identifying the changes in the Slovak hematophagous entomological fauna. The emphasis is put on the detailed survey of the species spectrum of mosquitoes (Culicidae), biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), and horse flies (Tabanidae) with the objective to identify their biological, ecological and parasite-hosting relations in the conditions of the Eastern and Central Slovakia, in relation to the changing climate. One of the project objectives is to perform surveillance of potential vectors of transmitted infections with the aim to identify invasive species. Improve methodical procedures of laboratory detection of blood-sucking true flies by a detailed morphological survey, using the PCR identification methods. Therefore, the purpose of further research is also to identify, with the use of the up-to-date molecular methods, the competence and capacity of vectors in the transmission of infectious agens (viruses, microfilariae, etc.).